Absolutely Waterford’s third annual Preserving Our Past event Featuring: “The Birth of Commerce on Our River” an an Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social is May 7, 2019 at 5:00pm. Each guest will receive an item representative of each mill as they circle around to get their ice cream. When Waterford was surveyed, there were five sites designated as mill sites on the Fox River. In the 1800’s, mills required water power to produce lumber, flour, wheat and textiles. These sites will be honored as follows: Mill site #1: Commercial/retail operation including a blacksmith. (No mill actually operated on mill site 1) Mill site #2: Businesses included part of a woolen mill, a wagon and buggy shop, grocery store, doctor’s office, meat processing store, rendering facility, ice house, school bus facility, and the first library. Mill site #3: Businesses included woolen mill factory, paper making factory, dairy processing facility, wagon manufacture, buggy repair and painting, and auto storage Mill site #4: Mill site 4 was Waterford Mill Co which was a gristmill constructed in 1838 to process flour and wheat. Mill site #5: Mill site 5 was a lumber/saw mill originally constructed in 1837.
